The Doctor's Holiday
by Jennifer Young
Summary: The further adventures of my OCs, Liz and Timmy, and the Tenth Doctor, again partially set in the Steampunk universe. Timmy thinks his teacher, Mr. Dukes, is hiding something, and he is right. Is it sinister, or benign? Only The doctor can tell. Rated T for mild action/adventure violence. Also, if you haven't seen the 50th Anniversary episode, mild spoiler alert. Again, enjoy!


**The Doctor's Holiday**

 _Chapter One_

Aliens were real, and Timmy knew it. He sat on a park bench watching the airships float across the sky. In his hand was the cell phone his Uncle John had given him. He'd heard his mum call his Uncle a different name: the Doctor. He'd called his Uncle John- the Doctor- and asked him about it, what it meant.

The Doctor had told him that it had been a promise to himself to fix the problems of the universe, much as a medical doctor would fix a person. His uncle had become a self-appointed savior.

Timmy was not in trouble, just wary. He'd been wary of his science teacher, Mr. Dukes, for a month now. Yesterday's scan with his phone had confirmed it: his teacher was not human.

On his last visit, the Doctor had told him of an American organization in another universe that monitored alien activity. They knew nothing, really. In fact, they missed a lot of things, these men in black. The Doctor had often quietly cleaned up their messes. He'd defended the Earth better than they.

Timmy hadn't told the Doctor yet. He didn't know why. He had sensed there was something sad about Mr. Dukes. He'd reached out to him with his mind as a follow-up to the preliminary scan with his phone, pushing at the teacher with the thin tendrils of thought.

He'd heard whispers in Mr. Dukes' head, seen flashes of pictures he couldn't quite make out. He'd seen war, death, and a woman, alive in the man's heart, but dead in truth.

"You know a Time Lord," said the familiar voice connected to the shadow that appeared next to him.

Timmy looked up at Mr. Dukes, who he hadn't even heard arrive.

"What?" he asked.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I'm not here to harm anyone. I'm just… I'm tired," he said shoving his hands in his pants pocket.

"How do you know that I know one?" he asked.

"You've traveled with him. There is… I don't know how to explain it… There is a trace of time energy about you."

"What do you want with him?" Timmy asked.

"It's… I want to talk to him. It's… complicated. Timmy, you're one of my brightest students. I know that you are acquainted with a Time Lord. I wouldn't be asking you to introduce us if I didn't need his help and you weren't, at least on some level, willing to do so."

Timmy looked at Mr. Dukes, wondering what he looked like underneath his human skin. He wondered if it was even skin at all, or if he had some sort of holographic projection device.

"I don't know if I should, "Timmy said, hesitating. He knew there was something Mr. Dukes wasn't ready to share yet.

Just then, a man, who had been sitting across the park reading a newspaper, shut the paper and started walking across the park until he stood protectively behind Timmy's bench.

"I believe," he said quietly, opening his suit coat and pulling out his sonic screwdriver, "I am the one of whom you speak. You are disturbing my young nephew and I want to know why."

 _Chapter Two_

The park was beautiful this time of year. Timmy loved the late spring, especially since it was so close to the end of the school year. It struck him as weird the way his two worlds, the world of school and the world of fun, seemed to coalesce in this moment.

Two men, or, as Timmy reflected, two aliens in the guise of men, stood at odds, with him in the center. The Doctor was some eight-hundred eighty-nine or so years older than he. Mr. Dukes' age was, as yet, unknown to him.

However, he, of the three of them, saw no sense in the other two having it out in the park.

"Doctor, Mr. Dukes, don't you think it would be better if we talked about this elsewhere? Say, my house?"

They looked at each other, agreed, and followed Timmy's lead as he started walking toward home.

"And you," Timmy said to the Doctor, gesturing to the sonic screwdriver the Doctor had pointed at Mr. Dukes, "Put that away." The Doctor complied and put the device back into his suit coat pocket.

"Mum!" Timmy called, setting the tea tray on the coffee table, "Teatime!"

His mum came out of the basement, her work area, her lab coat still over her loose dress. Her dark hair was in a loose coif, tendrils of hair escaping the hairdo at the front, curling around her face. A pair of goggles hung around her neck. Even in disarray, his mum was still the prettiest lady in the city. The high-society ladies who lived in the airships above couldn't hold a candle to her.

At the sight of Mr. Dukes, she said, "Timmy, you should have told me we had guests for tea."

"Sorry mum," he said contritely, "It was a bit short-notice. Mr. Dukes has to talk to Uncle John about something."

"It's all right, ma'am," Mr. Dukes said politely, "I do apologize for barging in like this, but your son suggested that speaking of this in a public park was inappropriate."

At that point, Timmy saw something pass between his mum and Mr. Dukes that was reminiscent of the way both his mum and his dad looked at each other before his dad… Timmy was surprised that the thought of his dad's death wasn't as painful as it usually was.

"Mr. Dukes, meet my mum, Elizabeth Harrington. Mum, Mr. Dukes teaches science at my school. Mr. Dukes is—"

"What Timmy is trying to say, Liz, "the Doctor interjected, "is that his teacher is not human."

Mr. Dukes nodded. "It's true."

"What I want to know," said the Doctor, "Is what planet you're from and why you were pestering Timmy."

"You," said Liz, bristling slightly, "were bothering my son and I want to know why."

Timmy looked at all the adults in the room and said, "Mum, Uncle John, Mr. Dukes, the tea is getting cold."

The adults sat down, their chairs circling the coffee table. Timmy briefly marveled at how his small voice held weight in this household. There was a long silence, save for the clinking of sugar cubes into the teacups, the stirring of the spoons, and sipping of the tea.

Timmy was on his second biscuit when the Doctor spoke up.

"Mr. Dukes, you told Timmy you wished to speak with me. You made it seem quite urgent in the park. First of all, tell us all why you wished to talk to me in the first place."

"It starts with a war. The Time War, "he began. The Doctor stopped sipping his tea and set the cup and saucer on the table.

Mr. Dukes looked at Timmy, Liz, and the Doctor. He shook himself, and if there had been any doubt as to whether or not he were a being from another world, it was erased in that moment. He still looked fairly human, save for a few details. His skin was paler than any human skin tone, bearing a blue hue. Instead of hair, he had fine, soft quills, tied off in a neat ponytail. His long nails were neatly groomed.

Instead of whatever his native tongue was, he, in deference to his hosts, spoke in English.

"I am from a planet fairly close to yours, Doctor. I am Adresian, "Mr. Dukes said.

A shadow crossed the Doctor's face. Timmy had seen this only once, when the Doctor had cautioned him about speaking or acting before thinking about it. He'd said a lot of people had died. Timmy understood.

"Andresia was caught in the crossfire between the Daleks and Gallifrey. We—the entire planet—had little to no time to evacuate. We made our hasty preparations to go off world in little more than the equivalent of escape pods. I had a wife, Lidalia." He paused at her name.

The Doctor put his hand on Mr. Dukes' shoulder.

"The Time War was hard on us all," he said softly, "Do you need a moment?" Mr. Dukes nodded.

"Timmy," said Liz, "How did you know that Mr. Dukes wasn't human?"

"It was simple, really. I could just see it, you know? The way he was, the way he acted. He was so brilliant, seeming to know about things beyond the scope of human knowledge, but he would say things didn't happen as the schoolbooks said. He didn't know about things he should have, like who was the sitting Prime Minister or The Beatles."

"Just like Susan," said the Doctor.

"Who is she?" asked Liz.

"My granddaughter," replied the Doctor.

"My name is Sekud. Lidalia and I never had children. Although we wanted them, it just hadn't happened yet. We hadn't been married more than a year. I suppose that's why I chose teaching. There's nothing like psychic paper to provide your credentials. At any rate, there were finite numbers of escape pods. We were just about to enter one when another who was just as desperate…. He shot her. I, in my anger, fended him off, otherwise I would have been dead, too. I shoved him too hard, knocking him into a jagged bit of rock, killing him instantly. I pulled her into my arms, trying to do something, anything, to save her. But she put her hand on mine, stopping me. It was as though she knew… That she knew she wouldn't make it. Her last word to me was, 'Go.' She smiled at me, and died."

Sekud put his head in his hands. The Doctor kept his hand on Sekud's back.

"I feel responsible for that," the Doctor said softly. "What was done was done out of anger, desperation, and a whirlwind of other emotions. All I could think was it had to stop, there would be no more killing, no more... anything. I've counted the children, the innocents, who perished so many times since then."

"Don't feel bad, Time Lord—"

"Doctor," the Doctor corrected.

"Without you, I would not have come to this planet and bent the minds of so many children, taking them as my own charges as long as they were under my tutelage. This is why I've come. You have carried this weight all this time."

The Doctor sat back in his chair. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Elizabeth—"Sekud started.

"Liz," she said, blushing.

Yep, Timmy thought, there was something there. He would have to mention it to the Doctor, although he knew his uncle had noticed the way Sekud and his mum looked at each other, then looked away, as he had.

"Liz," said Sekud quietly, "I'm sorry to alarm you. I'm sure you get this all the time, but Timmy is the brightest boy of his age that I know. I knew that he had figured things out. Then I saw the signs about him, the traces of time travel and I knew he could bring me to the Doctor and I could help him somehow."

"Doctor," Sekud said, "It's time I show you that you did the right thing in the end." He took Liz and Timmy by the hand and looked about for the TARDIS. "You're your permission of course…"

The Doctor nodded and gestured to the next room, where the TARDIS rested.

 _Chapter Three_

"These events are time-locked, which means I shouldn't even be here. They are a fixed point in my personal history," said the Doctor.

"Shouldn't they be a fixed point in mine as well?" asked Sekud.

"Only if we were on Andresia instead of Gallifrey. Still, we need to make sure none of us are able to interfere."

He attached a band to each of their arms, then scanned it with his sonic screwdriver.

"There," he said, "Now neither of us will be either seen or heard. Timmy, stay close to us—"

"I know. Don't run off. We're here to observe, right?" Timmy said.

"That's a lad." He ruffled Timmy's hair.

They walked out of the TARDIS and the Doctor went white. Timmy and his mum each grasped one of his hands. Sekud put a hand on his back.

"Steady on, Time Lord," he whispered.

They were in the Gallifreyan capitol city of Arcadia on the last day of the Time War. All around them there were flames. People ran. Children screamed. Daleks flooded the streets, vaporizing indiscriminately. Men in uniforms rushed about, trying to save whoever they could, firing their laser guns at the Daleks.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" echoed the Daleks. The metallic voices were a litany of hate.

The Doctor fell to his knees. He covered his ears, rocking back and forth.

"No more," he whispered, over and over.

Sekud bent and helped him up.

"Over here, Time Lord," he whispered.

He took them over to a wall. In front of it stood a man, grizzled, weary, and angry. He looked at a nearby soldier, saying, "Soldier, I'm going to need your gun."

He took the man's gun and began firing at the wall. Shortly, the words, "No more" were emblazoned on the wall.

"It was then that I stole the Moment," said the Doctor, "the weapon with a conscience. I pushed the big, red button and—"

"But you did it for a reason, Doctor," said Sekud, "You stood for what you felt was right. Let me take you somewhere else, show you something else."

They all entered the TARDIS. Sekud gave him a set of coordinates. The Doctor put them in and pulled a few levers. The TARDIS groaned as she began her journey. The Doctor sat on the floor, his head in his hands.

"It's okay," was all Timmy could say to him.

"These events are fixed in my history," Sekud said, "but it's necessary to show them to you."

They stepped out of the TARDIS and into a field. The Doctor checked their armbands. They still would remain unseen and unheard. Sekud held a small, computerized pad in his hand as they watched the scene unfold.

A woman lay with Sekud in a field. They both looked up at the sky.

"What do you see, Lidialia?"

She giggled.

"I see a rabbit. Why? What do you see?" she said.

Sekud turned to her. "I see a ring, and a woman. I see children, a home, and a big back yard."

He pulled out a ring. Lidalia's eyes welled up.

"Will you make all these possible for me?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. Sekud slipped the ring on her finger.

The Sekud watching these events touched the pad and the scene changed. They saw Lidalia and Sekud together again. She had a small, white stick in her hand. She looked like she was about to cry.

"It's okay, Lidalia. We can try again."

"I know, I know. I... I just wanted it to be this time," she said. Sekud held her.

Sekud touched the pad again. The scene shifted around them to a similar scene to the one they'd seen the city of Arcadia. The only difference was the violence. There were no Daleks, just desperate Andresians running for their lives, saving themselves any way they could. Many pushed people out of the way, shoving people away from the escape pods.

One couple managed to get through. A man shoved his way through, shooting the woman and killing her. Her husband fended him off, knocking him against a rock, killing him. He then cradled his wife's broken body, rocking her and crying before being dragged away by someone and into an escape pod.

Sekud turned away toward the TARDIS. Timmy, Liz, and the Doctor followed. There was silence in the TARDIS, save for her engine, as they finished the journey back to their own time.

 _Chapter Four_

"I think I need a break after that," the Doctor said after he stepped out of the TARDIS.

"Understood," said Sekud.

"Come back tomorrow?" Liz said. Timmy saw his mum blush.

"I will," Sekud said.

"Your—"

"Yeah," he said. He shook himself, restoring his human guise, and left, almost reluctantly.

"Uncle John, what was that between Mum and Mr.—I mean Sekud?"

The Doctor looked up.

"You okay?"

"It's just… seeing it all again…"

"If I had to relive my Pa's funeral again, I'd feel like someone punched me in the gut, too."

"It's not the same," the Doctor said.

"I know. It wasn't like you had any choice, you know. Those Dalek things, they were going to kill everybody."

"They were on the ground and in the skies, Timmy. I got sick of all the fighting, all the killing. I didn't think. In trying to save everything, I lost it."

"I don't know what to say," Timmy said.

"Now," said the Doctor, changing the subject, "You were asking about your mum and Sekud."

"I saw them look at each other. She looked at him like she used to look at my Pa."

"Do you want that to happen?"

"I miss my Pa, but he's not coming back. Just like those people on Gallifrey are not coming back. But I know my mum needs to be happy, and he needs to be happy. If they can be happy together, I do. I want it. You need to find a way to be happy, too."

The Doctor nodded.

"Timmy, you have the wisdom of a Time Lord. What has your mum told you about love?"

"I once asked her about it. She said that it's different every time. She said with Pa, he'd been the last one she thought she wanted. But he kept coming 'round. The more he did that, the more she liked him. Then she said she more-than-liked him. This… It seems like… like lightning."

"Ah, yes. Scary at first, but you ride it, like a wave."

This made Timmy think.

"It's a good thing, isn't it? Sometimes you have to ride the wave."

"Yup," said the Doctor. "Tomorrow, we're going to provide the surfboard."

 _Chapter Five_

It was early afternoon when Sekud showed up at the door.

"Thank you for coming by, Sekud," Liz said, answering the door. Timmy had never seen his mum so flustered.

"Ah, good," the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together. "Sekud, you've given me something to think about, that those lives were not in vain, not those on Gallifrey, and not Lidalia's."

He started to get into the TARDIS. "Well, come on, all. We should take a little trip."

"Where are going?" asked Sekud.

The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not getting in there," said Liz, "without knowing where I'm going."

The Doctor took Liz into the other room, away from Timmy and Sekud. He kept his voice low, but Timmy had crept into the other room to hear. "I have never lead you into any danger we can't handle, right?"

"Right."

"I've seen the two of you, you and Sekud, and the way you look at each other."

"It's—"

"Don't try to deny it, Liz. It is a terrible thing, loneliness."

"I'm not lonely. I have Timmy. I have my work."

"And these are the excuses to be made when we could be happy. We stay alone because we know what it's like to not be alone. We also know what it's like to be alone in a crowd, you and I. So we separate ourselves from those who could hurt us because the echoes of the past are so strong that they rule our very lives. I would save you from that. I would save Sekud from that. All I know is that I see a happiness blooming, and I don't want you to miss out on it because of Tom. He would want you to be happy. Lidalia would want Sekud to be happy. That is what I'm doing for you today."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. I've let the TARDIS decide. She seems to know the most romantic places in the universe. I'll keep everyone safe, okay?"

"You always do," she said, "and I'll give what you said some thought."

Timmy slipped out of the room.

"What was that about?" Sekud asked after Timmy returned.

"Do you like my mum?"

"I—"

"That's what I thought," Timmy said.

"The brightest boy of your age, you are," he said, ruffling Timmy's hair a bit, "But yes, I do like your mum. She's different from Lidalia. Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes, unless it's life-threatening. Then I have to tell the Doctor." He saw Sekud nod in understanding at this.

"Andresians are telepathically connected to their mates, even after their mate joins the energy of the universe first. It was Lidalia who helped guide me to this planet and it was also she who… Oh, how do I explain it?"

"It was her essence that gave you that little nudge toward my mum, that made you give Mum a second look. She didn't choose for you; she indicated to you that you were ready again."

"Would you be ready for it if I… were to be close to your mum?"

"My Pa will always be my Pa. He's gone on as your wife has. But," he said, recalling the Doctor's words to his mum in the other room, "it would be a bad thing to ignore things that could make you happy just because of what happened in the past."

Just then, the Doctor brought Liz back from the other room.

"Okay. Allons-y! We're ready to go."

They all entered the TARDIS. The Doctor poked a few buttons and pulled a lever. Soon, the TARDIS was on her way.

They stepped out of the TARDIS and Timmy beheld the most beautiful purple sky. Instead of clouds, the swirls of the nebula hung in the sky, soft green and moving in a spiral.

The grass was blue and Timmy had to lean down and touch it. It felt like the yarn his mum sometimes spun from alpaca wool, so soft one could lay down and sleep on it.

The Doctor licked his finger and put it in the air. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Timmy asked.

"Number one, obviously, this is the most romantic planet in universe. Where are all the people? There should be people in this grass, right here, looking at that nebula, planning their children or… cover your ears Timmy-"

"I get it. I hear kids say stuff about what grown-ups do in bed."

"Where do you hear THAT?" Liz asked.

"They don't really understand it, Liz. But you may have to tell him when we get home," said Sekud.

Timmy saw his mum turn beet red at that.

"The other thing is something I just felt," the Doctor said.

"Like a disturbance," Timmy said, "Not as bad as the Stalyx, but something… wrong in the flow of space-time. Like something that's out of place."

"We find what doesn't fit and…. Bingo!"

"Does he do this a lot?" Timmy heard Sekud ask his mum.

"Yeah, pretty much. Now it's off into danger. Again."

Sekud took her hand and said, "Just in case."

 _Chapter 6_

Caution was the order of the moment as the four of them made their way toward the city. The Doctor had figured what or whoever was the cause of the lack of people was most likely at the heart of the city. Timmy was inclined to agree.

"Romantia—I know, corny name—is the center of romance in the universe," the Doctor explained, "Anyone wanting a romantic getaway in order to strengthen or restore their relationship comes here. Anyone wanting to find a mate will come here alone. The inhabitants cater to the culture of romance—almost too much, really. They have a ninety-nine percent success rate. Romance is big, and I mean BIG, business here."

"Why would everyone disappear?" Timmy asked as they walked by a building. He noticed the curtains shut as they walked past it.

"Did you see that?" said the Doctor, noticing what he had.

"Yeah," said Timmy. No one was in any of the shops; they were all barred and boarded up. "It's almost as if they're afraid to come out."

The further they got into city, the worse it got. It seemed as though all the inhabitants were in a forced hiding. Whatever—whoever—had done this seemed to have absolute rule, forbidding these people from doing business or leaving their homes. Timmy probed with his mind. From the homes and boarded shops, he sensed fear. He didn't have to prod much; the fear that encompassed the city was so great that it pervaded the city like a fog.

In the center of the city, there was a strong mind. Timmy put up walls in his head so that whatever it was would neither know he was there nor know he was investigating it. There was sorrow and hate so powerful that, even through his shields, he wanted to cry.

Sekud was on his knees, crying. His mum had her arm around him. The Doctor sat down.

"Guess you guys can feel that too," he said.

"Mum," said Timmy, "Focus on the ground. Let it anchor you. Think of the inside of your head. Picture yourself making a brick wall."

His mum looked up. "It's working."

"Good, now push some of that control at Sekud. It's worse for him. Doctor, you've seen so much you can control it."

His mum apparently was able to either push some of her energy at Sekud or expand her shielding. Either way, he'd stopped crying.

"Liz, Sekud, did it feel to either of you as though you either wanted to rip someone's head off or cry until you couldn't anymore?" asked the Doctor.

"I wanted to dig a hole and scream into it," said Sekud.

"And I wanted to rip someone's head off. I didn't care how or why. But part of me knew he needed me," she said looking at Sekud. "Between him and Timmy, I was able to pull myself together."

Sekud lifted his mum's hand to his lips and did something Timmy had seeing only in books. He kissed it. Timmy had seen it in a book with knights and tales of chivalry. Something about a king named Arthur.

"I think I can go on now," Sekud said, his hand never letting go.

"Allons-y. Press on. Whatever it is, we're getting closer, so stick together."

They did press on, walking toward a tall spire that had once glittered purple, reflecting the sky. It was steel-gray, and the closer they got, the heavier the dread felt. Timmy clutched The Doctor's hand and, he saw, his mum and Sekud clung to each other as though each was all the other had. His mum was fearless. The only other time he'd seen her like this was when they'd been on their last adventure with the Doctor.

They entered the spire and the Doctor scanned with his sonic screwdriver. It started making unusual sounds; instead of its usual hum, it began beeping until the Doctor hit it.

"It seems we have to go up, to the very tip-top," he said.

They boarded an elevator. The Doctor scanned the buttons with his sonic screwdriver until the display showed the number 13, which was strange because the buttons only went to level 12. After 12, the elevator rotated until the door faced the opposite side. They walked through and Timmy felt an electronic crackle about him.

"Energy barrier," explained the Doctor.

"Energy barrier indeed," said a cold voice from the back of the room.

The room itself gave Timmy the creeps. There was no light, save the odd candle here and there. The voice came from the darkest portion of the room. As far as Timmy could tell, the voice was female.

"What I want to know is who you are and how you passed my energy barrier. You can't be natives of Romantia, otherwise you'd be cowering in your homes, for that is what I have done. I have forced the inhabitants of this world to comply. You can't be here as a visitor, for I have driven them all away."

"And why would you want to do that?" the Doctor asked.

"I know," Timmy said softly. He stepped into the shadows until he found her. He could barely see, but she wore a hood, her clothing dark. She curled in a corner.

"Who are you? Your mind is so strong I can't penetrate it," she whispered.

"A moment, please," he said, "Doctor, Mum, Sekud, please leave the room. I need to speak to her." They grudgingly left the room.

"You are brave, child. Your caregivers know this, but they fear for you," she said.

"I am brave because I sensed your pain. I am Timmy. What's your name?"

"I am—no, no, my name doesn't matter," she said softly.

"If there's anything the Doctor has taught me, it's that everyone in the universe counts, no matter how big or small, no matter how insignificant they feel."

"Very well. I am Sefina from the planet Belintha."

"Near Gallifrey," said Timmy, nodding. "You lost somebody you loved, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said, "The Daleks got to our planet first."

"I have a bonafide Time Lord with me. Maybe you should talk to him."

"Okay," she said.

Timmy summoned his mum, Sekud, and the Doctor into the room. The Doctor knelt down in front of Sefina and took her hands in his.

"Timmy told me your planet was one of the first hit by the Daleks. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can," she said.

"Name? Planet of origin?"

"Sefina. Belintha."

"But it was more than the Daleks, wasn't it?"

"He was unfaithful. I was glad that he was killed," she said, tightening her grip on the Doctor's hands. "I confronted him before he was hit by the blast from the Daleks. I hated it all, the love, and the romance. I let it feed on me."

"You let it feed on you until it ate you up. You never dealt with the overwhelming sadness or the anger."

"I came here, where we'd met. I was determined that if I couldn't be happy, no one could."

"You let it all out then, let it engulf the city. You drove the tourists away because you couldn't bear it all. And now you need to set it right."

"But I don't WANT to!" she exclaimed, "I want to be here! I want to be alone. If anyone comes, they will feel my suffering, fell my pain!"

"And who will be helped by that? Not you. Not anyone. You will stay here and wallow."

"Sefina," Timmy said, "If you swim in the ocean of the past, it will drown you. My Pa died. I love him, but he has gone on. My mum knows that. Sekud lost his wife in the Time War."

"I ended up on planet Earth. I used the fact that my wife had died to become a mentor to the young, as I'd had none of my own. Then I met Liz, Timmy's mum. I feel like… like it's time to be happy again," Sekud said. Timmy's mum blushed.

"The Doctor blew up Gallifrey to save the universe from the menace of the Time War. He counts the children he couldn't save," said Timmy.

"You do?" Sefina asked.

"Every day. But now I know that it had a purpose. I make up for every life I couldn't save by saving others. I lend my experience to those who need it."

"I feel in you a remarkable strength, Time Lord."

"You have that strength as well. You have to look within for it," he said.

"I can help you," said Timmy.

Sefina nodded. She let Timmy help her up. The Doctor took her other hand and led her into the TARDIS.

 _Chapter 7_

"Does he do this all the time?" Sefina asked Timmy as the Doctor dodged to and fro, pushing this, pulling that on the TARDIS console.

"Yep," said Timmy.

"Such amazing energy, this man," she marveled.

"You haven't seen the half of it," he said.

"Where are we going?"

"Dunno," he said, "We'll be safe though. I've never been anywhere with the Doctor, even in times of danger, when I wasn't safe. My mum would have his hide."

Sefina chuckled. "It looks, though, like your mum is otherwise occupied."

"I'm glad of it. There were two people in my life who were broken. The Doctor helped fix them."

"He does a lot of that, doesn't he? Why do you think that?"

"I think, on some level, he's a tinker. He's also a bit broken. So it helps him to get involved, to save the day, one way or another. He also likes to have companions. I think he feels very alone sometimes."

"You are the brightest boy I've known," Sefina said.

"Yeah," said Timmy sheepishly, "I'm getting a lot of that lately."

"Your mum must be very proud of you," she said.

"I think she is. The Doctor helped me realize how bright I am."

"So now you have a promise to keep."

"So I do. Close your eyes Sefina. Do you feel the hum of the TARDIS engine beneath you?"

"Yes. I can feel it hum through me, like a living thing," she marveled.

"That's because she's alive. I want you to use that as your ground, as your center."

"Okay, now what?"

"Picture the inside of your head. Think of bricks. Now build them up, like a wall. Think of them as a way to keep stuff you don't want to share in and stuff you don't want shared with you out."

"Okay," she said.

"I can feel it. You're not shouting how you feel now. Do you feel better?"

"Yes, actually," she said. She opened her eyes. "Thank you, Timmy."

"Glad to help," he said.

"Where did your mum and Sekud go?"

"The arboretum for a romantic walk, I think."

"There's an arboretum?" she asked, incredulous.

"Really, Sefina. After all you've seen, the TARDIS' being bigger on the inside, space travel, you're amazed?"

"One shouldn't become too jaded. You and the Doctor taught me that. Your mum and Sekud have shown me that nothing is impossible."

"Liz, Sekud, come here," the Doctor called.

Sekud and his mum came into the TARDIS control room arm in arm.

"Are we here?" his mum asked, "Wherever 'here' is…"

"'Here' is space. Sefina, give the door a push, would you, but hang on to the side. We wouldn't want you to fall out into space, would we?"

Sefina opened the door and her mouth dropped. Timmy, Sekud, and his mum peered out, hanging on. The TARDIS was hovering over a nebula.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Just think of it, all the worlds we see, spinning out from the center of that. Makes you feel small, doesn't it?"

"It makes me feel like all that hurt me will soon pass. It makes me feel like all my anger, all my sadness was in vain. It makes me feel like in the larger scheme of the universe, I am one little star."

"But think of the star, Sefina. Think of the life of a star. It gets older and until it collapses. One little star can affect the entire course of a star system. You may be one star, Sefina, but think of how your one little light helps the others to shine," said the Doctor.

"Like skipping a rock in the lake," she said.

"Exactly," he replied. "The more evil you do, the darker the universe. The more good you do, however small, the brighter the universe."

"Did things right themselves in Romantia?" she asked.

"They always do in places. I did a little thing with the sonic…."

"And it's back to normal."

"Yeah, pretty much."

 _Chapter Eight_

"So now what?" the Doctor asked. They were all in Timmy's house.

"Well, I have new friends, thanks to you and Timmy," she said ruffling Timmy's hair, "And I have a new world on which to live. I have no place to stay, though."

"Sefina, you're welcome to stay here indefinitely," Timmy's mum said, "I could use another woman around the house."

"I couldn't impose that long. Maybe until I find a niche here?"

"That's fine too," his mum said. Timmy had a feeling his mum would insist on the former arrangement.

It was about teatime, and Sefina helped his mum fix the tea. She also took some Earth ingredients and made and unusual sort of tea sandwich.

"On Belintha we called them tethuna, but I guess, on Earth you would call them… Liz, help me out?"

"They're called cucumber sandwiches, but Sefina's variation has hummus instead of cream cheese."

Timmy grabbed one and took a bite.

"Mmm!" he said after he finished chewing. "These are good!"

"I'm glad you like them, Timmy," she said, smiling.

The Doctor took a bite.

"Better than Jammie Dodgers, and I don't say that a lot," he said. "What about you, Sekud?"

"I'll continue teaching. There are so many bright minds on this world. Did you know that they're heading for an evolution in your people's direction, Doctor?"

"It had crossed my mind more than once. It will take some time and change," he mused.

"I had thought on staying to become a counselor," Sefina said, "Those asylums are horrid places. Perhaps they will close them down. I may take some private clients and teach them some of the things I was taught."

"Other universe spoilers," said the Doctor, smiling.

"What's that mean?" asked Sefina.

"After a few adventures with him," Timmy's mum said, "you learn not to ask."

Sefina nodded.

"And you two," he said, gesturing at Sekud and Timmy's mum, "had better send me a wedding invitation."

"How do you-"Sefina began to ask.

"Spoilers," said the Doctor. Sefina nodded. It was definitely a Doctor thing.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Timmy asked.

"Not for good, no," he replied, "I've had a lovely vacation. However, I think it's time for me to go. I've had enough of a rest. Daleks to fight, worlds and people to save. Got to pop off now. Itchy feet, you know."

"Itchy feet?" Sekud asked.

"It means he's feeling restless," explained Timmy. Sekud nodded.

"And you," he said to Timmy, "Help your mum, and don't hesitate to call me."

He hugged them all. "See you later."

Timmy had no idea when later would be; he just knew he would see the Doctor again. The Doctor hopped into his TARDIS, giving them all a quick wave, which they all returned. The TARDIS began to dematerialize.

That was the rule with the Doctor, Timmy reflected. He never liked to say goodbye. Goodbye was too final.

 **The Doctor's Holiday**

 _Chapter One_

Aliens were real, and Timmy knew it. He sat on a park bench watching the airships float across the sky. In his hand was the cell phone his Uncle John had given him. He'd heard his mum call his Uncle a different name: the Doctor. He'd called his Uncle John- the Doctor- and asked him about it, what it meant.

The Doctor had told him that it had been a promise to himself to fix the problems of the universe, much as a medical doctor would fix a person. His uncle had become a self-appointed savior.

Timmy was not in trouble, just wary. He'd been wary of his science teacher, Mr. Dukes, for a month now. Yesterday's scan with his phone had confirmed it: his teacher was not human.

On his last visit, the Doctor had told him of an American organization in another universe that monitored alien activity. They knew nothing, really. In fact, they missed a lot of things, these men in black. The Doctor had often quietly cleaned up their messes. He'd defended the Earth better than they.

Timmy hadn't told the Doctor yet. He didn't know why. He had sensed there was something sad about Mr. Dukes. He'd reached out to him with his mind as a follow-up to the preliminary scan with his phone, pushing at the teacher with the thin tendrils of thought.

He'd heard whispers in Mr. Dukes' head, seen flashes of pictures he couldn't quite make out. He'd seen war, death, and a woman, alive in the man's heart, but dead in truth.

"You know a Time Lord," said the familiar voice connected to the shadow that appeared next to him.

Timmy looked up at Mr. Dukes, who he hadn't even heard arrive.

"What?" he asked.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I'm not here to harm anyone. I'm just… I'm tired," he said shoving his hands in his pants pocket.

"How do you know that I know one?" he asked.

"You've traveled with him. There is… I don't know how to explain it… There is a trace of time energy about you."

"What do you want with him?" Timmy asked.

"It's… I want to talk to him. It's… complicated. Timmy, you're one of my brightest students. I know that you are acquainted with a Time Lord. I wouldn't be asking you to introduce us if I didn't need his help and you weren't, at least on some level, willing to do so."

Timmy looked at Mr. Dukes, wondering what he looked like underneath his human skin. He wondered if it was even skin at all, or if he had some sort of holographic projection device.

"I don't know if I should, "Timmy said, hesitating. He knew there was something Mr. Dukes wasn't ready to share yet.

Just then, a man, who had been sitting across the park reading a newspaper, shut the paper and started walking across the park until he stood protectively behind Timmy's bench.

"I believe," he said quietly, opening his suit coat and pulling out his sonic screwdriver, "I am the one of whom you speak. You are disturbing my young nephew and I want to know why."

 _Chapter Two_

The park was beautiful this time of year. Timmy loved the late spring, especially since it was so close to the end of the school year. It struck him as weird the way his two worlds, the world of school and the world of fun, seemed to coalesce in this moment.

Two men, or, as Timmy reflected, two aliens in the guise of men, stood at odds, with him in the center. The Doctor was some eight-hundred eighty-nine or so years older than he. Mr. Dukes' age was, as yet, unknown to him.

However, he, of the three of them, saw no sense in the other two having it out in the park.

"Doctor, Mr. Dukes, don't you think it would be better if we talked about this elsewhere? Say, my house?"

They looked at each other, agreed, and followed Timmy's lead as he started walking toward home.

"And you," Timmy said to the Doctor, gesturing to the sonic screwdriver the Doctor had pointed at Mr. Dukes, "Put that away." The Doctor complied and put the device back into his suit coat pocket.

"Mum!" Timmy called, setting the tea tray on the coffee table, "Teatime!"

His mum came out of the basement, her work area, her lab coat still over her loose dress. Her dark hair was in a loose coif, tendrils of hair escaping the hairdo at the front, curling around her face. A pair of goggles hung around her neck. Even in disarray, his mum was still the prettiest lady in the city. The high-society ladies who lived in the airships above couldn't hold a candle to her.

At the sight of Mr. Dukes, she said, "Timmy, you should have told me we had guests for tea."

"Sorry mum," he said contritely, "It was a bit short-notice. Mr. Dukes has to talk to Uncle John about something."

"It's all right, ma'am," Mr. Dukes said politely, "I do apologize for barging in like this, but your son suggested that speaking of this in a public park was inappropriate."

At that point, Timmy saw something pass between his mum and Mr. Dukes that was reminiscent of the way both his mum and his dad looked at each other before his dad… Timmy was surprised that the thought of his dad's death wasn't as painful as it usually was.

"Mr. Dukes, meet my mum, Elizabeth Harrington. Mum, Mr. Dukes teaches science at my school. Mr. Dukes is—"

"What Timmy is trying to say, Liz, "the Doctor interjected, "is that his teacher is not human."

Mr. Dukes nodded. "It's true."

"What I want to know," said the Doctor, "Is what planet you're from and why you were pestering Timmy."

"You," said Liz, bristling slightly, "were bothering my son and I want to know why."

Timmy looked at all the adults in the room and said, "Mum, Uncle John, Mr. Dukes, the tea is getting cold."

The adults sat down, their chairs circling the coffee table. Timmy briefly marveled at how his small voice held weight in this household. There was a long silence, save for the clinking of sugar cubes into the teacups, the stirring of the spoons, and sipping of the tea.

Timmy was on his second biscuit when the Doctor spoke up.

"Mr. Dukes, you told Timmy you wished to speak with me. You made it seem quite urgent in the park. First of all, tell us all why you wished to talk to me in the first place."

"It starts with a war. The Time War, "he began. The Doctor stopped sipping his tea and set the cup and saucer on the table.

Mr. Dukes looked at Timmy, Liz, and the Doctor. He shook himself, and if there had been any doubt as to whether or not he were a being from another world, it was erased in that moment. He still looked fairly human, save for a few details. His skin was paler than any human skin tone, bearing a blue hue. Instead of hair, he had fine, soft quills, tied off in a neat ponytail. His long nails were neatly groomed.

Instead of whatever his native tongue was, he, in deference to his hosts, spoke in English.

"I am from a planet fairly close to yours, Doctor. I am Adresian, "Mr. Dukes said.

A shadow crossed the Doctor's face. Timmy had seen this only once, when the Doctor had cautioned him about speaking or acting before thinking about it. He'd said a lot of people had died. Timmy understood.

"Andresia was caught in the crossfire between the Daleks and Gallifrey. We—the entire planet—had little to no time to evacuate. We made our hasty preparations to go off world in little more than the equivalent of escape pods. I had a wife, Lidalia." He paused at her name.

The Doctor put his hand on Mr. Dukes' shoulder.

"The Time War was hard on us all," he said softly, "Do you need a moment?" Mr. Dukes nodded.

"Timmy," said Liz, "How did you know that Mr. Dukes wasn't human?"

"It was simple, really. I could just see it, you know? The way he was, the way he acted. He was so brilliant, seeming to know about things beyond the scope of human knowledge, but he would say things didn't happen as the schoolbooks said. He didn't know about things he should have, like who was the sitting Prime Minister or The Beatles."

"Just like Susan," said the Doctor.

"Who is she?" asked Liz.

"My granddaughter," replied the Doctor.

"My name is Sekud. Lidalia and I never had children. Although we wanted them, it just hadn't happened yet. We hadn't been married more than a year. I suppose that's why I chose teaching. There's nothing like psychic paper to provide your credentials. At any rate, there were finite numbers of escape pods. We were just about to enter one when another who was just as desperate…. He shot her. I, in my anger, fended him off, otherwise I would have been dead, too. I shoved him too hard, knocking him into a jagged bit of rock, killing him instantly. I pulled her into my arms, trying to do something, anything, to save her. But she put her hand on mine, stopping me. It was as though she knew… That she knew she wouldn't make it. Her last word to me was, 'Go.' She smiled at me, and died."

Sekud put his head in his hands. The Doctor kept his hand on Sekud's back.

"I feel responsible for that," the Doctor said softly. "What was done was done out of anger, desperation, and a whirlwind of other emotions. All I could think was it had to stop, there would be no more killing, no more... anything. I've counted the children, the innocents, who perished so many times since then."

"Don't feel bad, Time Lord—"

"Doctor," the Doctor corrected.

"Without you, I would not have come to this planet and bent the minds of so many children, taking them as my own charges as long as they were under my tutelage. This is why I've come. You have carried this weight all this time."

The Doctor sat back in his chair. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Elizabeth—"Sekud started.

"Liz," she said, blushing.

Yep, Timmy thought, there was something there. He would have to mention it to the Doctor, although he knew his uncle had noticed the way Sekud and his mum looked at each other, then looked away, as he had.

"Liz," said Sekud quietly, "I'm sorry to alarm you. I'm sure you get this all the time, but Timmy is the brightest boy of his age that I know. I knew that he had figured things out. Then I saw the signs about him, the traces of time travel and I knew he could bring me to the Doctor and I could help him somehow."

"Doctor," Sekud said, "It's time I show you that you did the right thing in the end." He took Liz and Timmy by the hand and looked about for the TARDIS. "You're your permission of course…"

The Doctor nodded and gestured to the next room, where the TARDIS rested.

 _Chapter Three_

"These events are time-locked, which means I shouldn't even be here. They are a fixed point in my personal history," said the Doctor.

"Shouldn't they be a fixed point in mine as well?" asked Sekud.

"Only if we were on Andresia instead of Gallifrey. Still, we need to make sure none of us are able to interfere."

He attached a band to each of their arms, then scanned it with his sonic screwdriver.

"There," he said, "Now neither of us will be either seen or heard. Timmy, stay close to us—"

"I know. Don't run off. We're here to observe, right?" Timmy said.

"That's a lad." He ruffled Timmy's hair.

They walked out of the TARDIS and the Doctor went white. Timmy and his mum each grasped one of his hands. Sekud put a hand on his back.

"Steady on, Time Lord," he whispered.

They were in the Gallifreyan capitol city of Arcadia on the last day of the Time War. All around them there were flames. People ran. Children screamed. Daleks flooded the streets, vaporizing indiscriminately. Men in uniforms rushed about, trying to save whoever they could, firing their laser guns at the Daleks.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" echoed the Daleks. The metallic voices were a litany of hate.

The Doctor fell to his knees. He covered his ears, rocking back and forth.

"No more," he whispered, over and over.

Sekud bent and helped him up.

"Over here, Time Lord," he whispered.

He took them over to a wall. In front of it stood a man, grizzled, weary, and angry. He looked at a nearby soldier, saying, "Soldier, I'm going to need your gun."

He took the man's gun and began firing at the wall. Shortly, the words, "No more" were emblazoned on the wall.

"It was then that I stole the Moment," said the Doctor, "the weapon with a conscience. I pushed the big, red button and—"

"But you did it for a reason, Doctor," said Sekud, "You stood for what you felt was right. Let me take you somewhere else, show you something else."

They all entered the TARDIS. Sekud gave him a set of coordinates. The Doctor put them in and pulled a few levers. The TARDIS groaned as she began her journey. The Doctor sat on the floor, his head in his hands.

"It's okay," was all Timmy could say to him.

"These events are fixed in my history," Sekud said, "but it's necessary to show them to you."

They stepped out of the TARDIS and into a field. The Doctor checked their armbands. They still would remain unseen and unheard. Sekud held a small, computerized pad in his hand as they watched the scene unfold.

A woman lay with Sekud in a field. They both looked up at the sky.

"What do you see, Lidialia?"

She giggled.

"I see a rabbit. Why? What do you see?" she said.

Sekud turned to her. "I see a ring, and a woman. I see children, a home, and a big back yard."

He pulled out a ring. Lidalia's eyes welled up.

"Will you make all these possible for me?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. Sekud slipped the ring on her finger.

The Sekud watching these events touched the pad and the scene changed. They saw Lidalia and Sekud together again. She had a small, white stick in her hand. She looked like she was about to cry.

"It's okay, Lidalia. We can try again."

"I know, I know. I... I just wanted it to be this time," she said. Sekud held her.

Sekud touched the pad again. The scene shifted around them to a similar scene to the one they'd seen the city of Arcadia. The only difference was the violence. There were no Daleks, just desperate Andresians running for their lives, saving themselves any way they could. Many pushed people out of the way, shoving people away from the escape pods.

One couple managed to get through. A man shoved his way through, shooting the woman and killing her. Her husband fended him off, knocking him against a rock, killing him. He then cradled his wife's broken body, rocking her and crying before being dragged away by someone and into an escape pod.

Sekud turned away toward the TARDIS. Timmy, Liz, and the Doctor followed. There was silence in the TARDIS, save for her engine, as they finished the journey back to their own time.

 _Chapter Four_

"I think I need a break after that," the Doctor said after he stepped out of the TARDIS.

"Understood," said Sekud.

"Come back tomorrow?" Liz said. Timmy saw his mum blush.

"I will," Sekud said.

"Your—"

"Yeah," he said. He shook himself, restoring his human guise, and left, almost reluctantly.

"Uncle John, what was that between Mum and Mr.—I mean Sekud?"

The Doctor looked up.

"You okay?"

"It's just… seeing it all again…"

"If I had to relive my Pa's funeral again, I'd feel like someone punched me in the gut, too."

"It's not the same," the Doctor said.

"I know. It wasn't like you had any choice, you know. Those Dalek things, they were going to kill everybody."

"They were on the ground and in the skies, Timmy. I got sick of all the fighting, all the killing. I didn't think. In trying to save everything, I lost it."

"I don't know what to say," Timmy said.

"Now," said the Doctor, changing the subject, "You were asking about your mum and Sekud."

"I saw them look at each other. She looked at him like she used to look at my Pa."

"Do you want that to happen?"

"I miss my Pa, but he's not coming back. Just like those people on Gallifrey are not coming back. But I know my mum needs to be happy, and he needs to be happy. If they can be happy together, I do. I want it. You need to find a way to be happy, too."

The Doctor nodded.

"Timmy, you have the wisdom of a Time Lord. What has your mum told you about love?"

"I once asked her about it. She said that it's different every time. She said with Pa, he'd been the last one she thought she wanted. But he kept coming 'round. The more he did that, the more she liked him. Then she said she more-than-liked him. This… It seems like… like lightning."

"Ah, yes. Scary at first, but you ride it, like a wave."

This made Timmy think.

"It's a good thing, isn't it? Sometimes you have to ride the wave."

"Yup," said the Doctor. "Tomorrow, we're going to provide the surfboard."

 _Chapter Five_

It was early afternoon when Sekud showed up at the door.

"Thank you for coming by, Sekud," Liz said, answering the door. Timmy had never seen his mum so flustered.

"Ah, good," the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together. "Sekud, you've given me something to think about, that those lives were not in vain, not those on Gallifrey, and not Lidalia's."

He started to get into the TARDIS. "Well, come on, all. We should take a little trip."

"Where are going?" asked Sekud.

The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not getting in there," said Liz, "without knowing where I'm going."

The Doctor took Liz into the other room, away from Timmy and Sekud. He kept his voice low, but Timmy had crept into the other room to hear. "I have never lead you into any danger we can't handle, right?"

"Right."

"I've seen the two of you, you and Sekud, and the way you look at each other."

"It's—"

"Don't try to deny it, Liz. It is a terrible thing, loneliness."

"I'm not lonely. I have Timmy. I have my work."

"And these are the excuses to be made when we could be happy. We stay alone because we know what it's like to not be alone. We also know what it's like to be alone in a crowd, you and I. So we separate ourselves from those who could hurt us because the echoes of the past are so strong that they rule our very lives. I would save you from that. I would save Sekud from that. All I know is that I see a happiness blooming, and I don't want you to miss out on it because of Tom. He would want you to be happy. Lidalia would want Sekud to be happy. That is what I'm doing for you today."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. I've let the TARDIS decide. She seems to know the most romantic places in the universe. I'll keep everyone safe, okay?"

"You always do," she said, "and I'll give what you said some thought."

Timmy slipped out of the room.

"What was that about?" Sekud asked after Timmy returned.

"Do you like my mum?"

"I—"

"That's what I thought," Timmy said.

"The brightest boy of your age, you are," he said, ruffling Timmy's hair a bit, "But yes, I do like your mum. She's different from Lidalia. Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes, unless it's life-threatening. Then I have to tell the Doctor." He saw Sekud nod in understanding at this.

"Andresians are telepathically connected to their mates, even after their mate joins the energy of the universe first. It was Lidalia who helped guide me to this planet and it was also she who… Oh, how do I explain it?"

"It was her essence that gave you that little nudge toward my mum, that made you give Mum a second look. She didn't choose for you; she indicated to you that you were ready again."

"Would you be ready for it if I… were to be close to your mum?"

"My Pa will always be my Pa. He's gone on as your wife has. But," he said, recalling the Doctor's words to his mum in the other room, "it would be a bad thing to ignore things that could make you happy just because of what happened in the past."

Just then, the Doctor brought Liz back from the other room.

"Okay. Allons-y! We're ready to go."

They all entered the TARDIS. The Doctor poked a few buttons and pulled a lever. Soon, the TARDIS was on her way.

They stepped out of the TARDIS and Timmy beheld the most beautiful purple sky. Instead of clouds, the swirls of the nebula hung in the sky, soft green and moving in a spiral.

The grass was blue and Timmy had to lean down and touch it. It felt like the yarn his mum sometimes spun from alpaca wool, so soft one could lay down and sleep on it.

The Doctor licked his finger and put it in the air. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Timmy asked.

"Number one, obviously, this is the most romantic planet in universe. Where are all the people? There should be people in this grass, right here, looking at that nebula, planning their children or… cover your ears Timmy-"

"I get it. I hear kids say stuff about what grown-ups do in bed."

"Where do you hear THAT?" Liz asked.

"They don't really understand it, Liz. But you may have to tell him when we get home," said Sekud.

Timmy saw his mum turn beet red at that.

"The other thing is something I just felt," the Doctor said.

"Like a disturbance," Timmy said, "Not as bad as the Stalyx, but something… wrong in the flow of space-time. Like something that's out of place."

"We find what doesn't fit and…. Bingo!"

"Does he do this a lot?" Timmy heard Sekud ask his mum.

"Yeah, pretty much. Now it's off into danger. Again."

Sekud took her hand and said, "Just in case."

 _Chapter 6_

Caution was the order of the moment as the four of them made their way toward the city. The Doctor had figured what or whoever was the cause of the lack of people was most likely at the heart of the city. Timmy was inclined to agree.

"Romantia—I know, corny name—is the center of romance in the universe," the Doctor explained, "Anyone wanting a romantic getaway in order to strengthen or restore their relationship comes here. Anyone wanting to find a mate will come here alone. The inhabitants cater to the culture of romance—almost too much, really. They have a ninety-nine percent success rate. Romance is big, and I mean BIG, business here."

"Why would everyone disappear?" Timmy asked as they walked by a building. He noticed the curtains shut as they walked past it.

"Did you see that?" said the Doctor, noticing what he had.

"Yeah," said Timmy. No one was in any of the shops; they were all barred and boarded up. "It's almost as if they're afraid to come out."

The further they got into city, the worse it got. It seemed as though all the inhabitants were in a forced hiding. Whatever—whoever—had done this seemed to have absolute rule, forbidding these people from doing business or leaving their homes. Timmy probed with his mind. From the homes and boarded shops, he sensed fear. He didn't have to prod much; the fear that encompassed the city was so great that it pervaded the city like a fog.

In the center of the city, there was a strong mind. Timmy put up walls in his head so that whatever it was would neither know he was there nor know he was investigating it. There was sorrow and hate so powerful that, even through his shields, he wanted to cry.

Sekud was on his knees, crying. His mum had her arm around him. The Doctor sat down.

"Guess you guys can feel that too," he said.

"Mum," said Timmy, "Focus on the ground. Let it anchor you. Think of the inside of your head. Picture yourself making a brick wall."

His mum looked up. "It's working."

"Good, now push some of that control at Sekud. It's worse for him. Doctor, you've seen so much you can control it."

His mum apparently was able to either push some of her energy at Sekud or expand her shielding. Either way, he'd stopped crying.

"Liz, Sekud, did it feel to either of you as though you either wanted to rip someone's head off or cry until you couldn't anymore?" asked the Doctor.

"I wanted to dig a hole and scream into it," said Sekud.

"And I wanted to rip someone's head off. I didn't care how or why. But part of me knew he needed me," she said looking at Sekud. "Between him and Timmy, I was able to pull myself together."

Sekud lifted his mum's hand to his lips and did something Timmy had seeing only in books. He kissed it. Timmy had seen it in a book with knights and tales of chivalry. Something about a king named Arthur.

"I think I can go on now," Sekud said, his hand never letting go.

"Allons-y. Press on. Whatever it is, we're getting closer, so stick together."

They did press on, walking toward a tall spire that had once glittered purple, reflecting the sky. It was steel-gray, and the closer they got, the heavier the dread felt. Timmy clutched The Doctor's hand and, he saw, his mum and Sekud clung to each other as though each was all the other had. His mum was fearless. The only other time he'd seen her like this was when they'd been on their last adventure with the Doctor.

They entered the spire and the Doctor scanned with his sonic screwdriver. It started making unusual sounds; instead of its usual hum, it began beeping until the Doctor hit it.

"It seems we have to go up, to the very tip-top," he said.

They boarded an elevator. The Doctor scanned the buttons with his sonic screwdriver until the display showed the number 13, which was strange because the buttons only went to level 12. After 12, the elevator rotated until the door faced the opposite side. They walked through and Timmy felt an electronic crackle about him.

"Energy barrier," explained the Doctor.

"Energy barrier indeed," said a cold voice from the back of the room.

The room itself gave Timmy the creeps. There was no light, save the odd candle here and there. The voice came from the darkest portion of the room. As far as Timmy could tell, the voice was female.

"What I want to know is who you are and how you passed my energy barrier. You can't be natives of Romantia, otherwise you'd be cowering in your homes, for that is what I have done. I have forced the inhabitants of this world to comply. You can't be here as a visitor, for I have driven them all away."

"And why would you want to do that?" the Doctor asked.

"I know," Timmy said softly. He stepped into the shadows until he found her. He could barely see, but she wore a hood, her clothing dark. She curled in a corner.

"Who are you? Your mind is so strong I can't penetrate it," she whispered.

"A moment, please," he said, "Doctor, Mum, Sekud, please leave the room. I need to speak to her." They grudgingly left the room.

"You are brave, child. Your caregivers know this, but they fear for you," she said.

"I am brave because I sensed your pain. I am Timmy. What's your name?"

"I am—no, no, my name doesn't matter," she said softly.

"If there's anything the Doctor has taught me, it's that everyone in the universe counts, no matter how big or small, no matter how insignificant they feel."

"Very well. I am Sefina from the planet Belintha."

"Near Gallifrey," said Timmy, nodding. "You lost somebody you loved, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said, "The Daleks got to our planet first."

"I have a bonafide Time Lord with me. Maybe you should talk to him."

"Okay," she said.

Timmy summoned his mum, Sekud, and the Doctor into the room. The Doctor knelt down in front of Sefina and took her hands in his.

"Timmy told me your planet was one of the first hit by the Daleks. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can," she said.

"Name? Planet of origin?"

"Sefina. Belintha."

"But it was more than the Daleks, wasn't it?"

"He was unfaithful. I was glad that he was killed," she said, tightening her grip on the Doctor's hands. "I confronted him before he was hit by the blast from the Daleks. I hated it all, the love, and the romance. I let it feed on me."

"You let it feed on you until it ate you up. You never dealt with the overwhelming sadness or the anger."

"I came here, where we'd met. I was determined that if I couldn't be happy, no one could."

"You let it all out then, let it engulf the city. You drove the tourists away because you couldn't bear it all. And now you need to set it right."

"But I don't WANT to!" she exclaimed, "I want to be here! I want to be alone. If anyone comes, they will feel my suffering, fell my pain!"

"And who will be helped by that? Not you. Not anyone. You will stay here and wallow."

"Sefina," Timmy said, "If you swim in the ocean of the past, it will drown you. My Pa died. I love him, but he has gone on. My mum knows that. Sekud lost his wife in the Time War."

"I ended up on planet Earth. I used the fact that my wife had died to become a mentor to the young, as I'd had none of my own. Then I met Liz, Timmy's mum. I feel like… like it's time to be happy again," Sekud said. Timmy's mum blushed.

"The Doctor blew up Gallifrey to save the universe from the menace of the Time War. He counts the children he couldn't save," said Timmy.

"You do?" Sefina asked.

"Every day. But now I know that it had a purpose. I make up for every life I couldn't save by saving others. I lend my experience to those who need it."

"I feel in you a remarkable strength, Time Lord."

"You have that strength as well. You have to look within for it," he said.

"I can help you," said Timmy.

Sefina nodded. She let Timmy help her up. The Doctor took her other hand and led her into the TARDIS.

 _Chapter 7_

"Does he do this all the time?" Sefina asked Timmy as the Doctor dodged to and fro, pushing this, pulling that on the TARDIS console.

"Yep," said Timmy.

"Such amazing energy, this man," she marveled.

"You haven't seen the half of it," he said.

"Where are we going?"

"Dunno," he said, "We'll be safe though. I've never been anywhere with the Doctor, even in times of danger, when I wasn't safe. My mum would have his hide."

Sefina chuckled. "It looks, though, like your mum is otherwise occupied."

"I'm glad of it. There were two people in my life who were broken. The Doctor helped fix them."

"He does a lot of that, doesn't he? Why do you think that?"

"I think, on some level, he's a tinker. He's also a bit broken. So it helps him to get involved, to save the day, one way or another. He also likes to have companions. I think he feels very alone sometimes."

"You are the brightest boy I've known," Sefina said.

"Yeah," said Timmy sheepishly, "I'm getting a lot of that lately."

"Your mum must be very proud of you," she said.

"I think she is. The Doctor helped me realize how bright I am."

"So now you have a promise to keep."

"So I do. Close your eyes Sefina. Do you feel the hum of the TARDIS engine beneath you?"

"Yes. I can feel it hum through me, like a living thing," she marveled.

"That's because she's alive. I want you to use that as your ground, as your center."

"Okay, now what?"

"Picture the inside of your head. Think of bricks. Now build them up, like a wall. Think of them as a way to keep stuff you don't want to share in and stuff you don't want shared with you out."

"Okay," she said.

"I can feel it. You're not shouting how you feel now. Do you feel better?"

"Yes, actually," she said. She opened her eyes. "Thank you, Timmy."

"Glad to help," he said.

"Where did your mum and Sekud go?"

"The arboretum for a romantic walk, I think."

"There's an arboretum?" she asked, incredulous.

"Really, Sefina. After all you've seen, the TARDIS' being bigger on the inside, space travel, you're amazed?"

"One shouldn't become too jaded. You and the Doctor taught me that. Your mum and Sekud have shown me that nothing is impossible."

"Liz, Sekud, come here," the Doctor called.

Sekud and his mum came into the TARDIS control room arm in arm.

"Are we here?" his mum asked, "Wherever 'here' is…"

"'Here' is space. Sefina, give the door a push, would you, but hang on to the side. We wouldn't want you to fall out into space, would we?"

Sefina opened the door and her mouth dropped. Timmy, Sekud, and his mum peered out, hanging on. The TARDIS was hovering over a nebula.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Just think of it, all the worlds we see, spinning out from the center of that. Makes you feel small, doesn't it?"

"It makes me feel like all that hurt me will soon pass. It makes me feel like all my anger, all my sadness was in vain. It makes me feel like in the larger scheme of the universe, I am one little star."

"But think of the star, Sefina. Think of the life of a star. It gets older and until it collapses. One little star can affect the entire course of a star system. You may be one star, Sefina, but think of how your one little light helps the others to shine," said the Doctor.

"Like skipping a rock in the lake," she said.

"Exactly," he replied. "The more evil you do, the darker the universe. The more good you do, however small, the brighter the universe."

"Did things right themselves in Romantia?" she asked.

"They always do in places. I did a little thing with the sonic…."

"And it's back to normal."

"Yeah, pretty much."

 _Chapter Eight_

"So now what?" the Doctor asked. They were all in Timmy's house.

"Well, I have new friends, thanks to you and Timmy," she said ruffling Timmy's hair, "And I have a new world on which to live. I have no place to stay, though."

"Sefina, you're welcome to stay here indefinitely," Timmy's mum said, "I could use another woman around the house."

"I couldn't impose that long. Maybe until I find a niche here?"

"That's fine too," his mum said. Timmy had a feeling his mum would insist on the former arrangement.

It was about teatime, and Sefina helped his mum fix the tea. She also took some Earth ingredients and made and unusual sort of tea sandwich.

"On Belintha we called them tethuna, but I guess, on Earth you would call them… Liz, help me out?"

"They're called cucumber sandwiches, but Sefina's variation has hummus instead of cream cheese."

Timmy grabbed one and took a bite.

"Mmm!" he said after he finished chewing. "These are good!"

"I'm glad you like them, Timmy," she said, smiling.

The Doctor took a bite.

"Better than Jammie Dodgers, and I don't say that a lot," he said. "What about you, Sekud?"

"I'll continue teaching. There are so many bright minds on this world. Did you know that they're heading for an evolution in your people's direction, Doctor?"

"It had crossed my mind more than once. It will take some time and change," he mused.

"I had thought on staying to become a counselor," Sefina said, "Those asylums are horrid places. Perhaps they will close them down. I may take some private clients and teach them some of the things I was taught."

"Other universe spoilers," said the Doctor, smiling.

"What's that mean?" asked Sefina.

"After a few adventures with him," Timmy's mum said, "you learn not to ask."

Sefina nodded.

"And you two," he said, gesturing at Sekud and Timmy's mum, "had better send me a wedding invitation."

"How do you-"Sefina began to ask.

"Spoilers," said the Doctor. Sefina nodded. It was definitely a Doctor thing.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Timmy asked.

"Not for good, no," he replied, "I've had a lovely vacation. However, I think it's time for me to go. I've had enough of a rest. Daleks to fight, worlds and people to save. Got to pop off now. Itchy feet, you know."

"Itchy feet?" Sekud asked.

"It means he's feeling restless," explained Timmy. Sekud nodded.

"And you," he said to Timmy, "Help your mum, and don't hesitate to call me."

He hugged them all. "See you later."

Timmy had no idea when later would be; he just knew he would see the Doctor again. The Doctor hopped into his TARDIS, giving them all a quick wave, which they all returned. The TARDIS began to dematerialize.

That was the rule with the Doctor, Timmy reflected. He never liked to say goodbye. Goodbye was too final.


End file.
